yick wrote: ↑March 4th, 2024, 4:59 pm
I was thinking about your question before you edited it and I thought I would give it some good thought before answering it but I have to say I find like in Peru and the rest of Latin America more to my taste - both Lucas and Pixel talk about this a lot but life in the UK can be quite hostile, it's a hostile culture - not just for me but for a fair number of white Brits also - I will give you an example - my dad is 89 and the local supermarket is a mile and a half away and there is nowhere for him to sit! Outside is full of what they call 'hostile architecture' they don't want you hanging around anywhere - true - a lot of these amineties get vanadalised but then I suppose that is part of the problem and why we have that kind of 'hostile architecture' everywhere but we don't have that in Latin America and it alienates me when I am in the UK because I know what life can be like and it doesn't have to be that way - also the people are really angry and aggressive - there is a lot of depression and depressed angry people in the UK and though all of Latin America is poorer than the UK - they don't have a lot of those social problems and what social problems they do have stems from poverty but it doesn't affect all of the population.
Also, in the UK - I am just some ordinary working class Brit scrub - in Peru I am at least middle class and maybe even more than that
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I get a social and a life upgrade when I am there and of course you have factors like better food, better weather, people are friendlier and it isn't just Peru - I have felt great in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico - wherever I have been I have liked and felt accepted but I have felt far happier. It's not all about race - a lot of it is the outlook of the culture, society and people - there are people who are depressed in the UK and they don't know why nor how to get out of it but when you leave your house unless you live in some nice little village by the sea in Suffolk - then it is depressing and shit and the whole architecture is made to alienate you and make you feel unwelcome.
All of this post is very much on point.
I've always joked that the UK is a first-world country materially but third-world in everything else—it's a place where it is easy to survive due to greater work opportunities than most other countries and a decent welfare system that prevents those who are going through a hard time from falling into abject poverty, but at the same time it's not a place where you can easily enjoy culture or a decent social life or be happy in the long term. Most British cities, with their hideous modernist architecture, are designed purely for work and commerce, not for living.
This couldn't be any further from the soulful cities of Spain or Latin America with their open plazas, beautiful bright buildings, vast public parks and charming terraces with bars and restaurants where people can just leisurely hang out and have fun. And with none of that "hostile architecture" that you described in this thread and elsewhere in sight. Such cities are designed for living and psychological wellbeing, not just for work and commerce. That's why life feels so much better there despite those cities not being as materially wealthy.
Latin America especially has a very distinct vibe. Everything feels more real there with the Wild West feel, outgoing social culture, a certain frenetic energy in the air, and people who aren't socially stunted like in the UK and US. You notice this as soon as you get off the plane.
As for myself, I grew up in quite a nice town in Yorkshire, one with a population of about 15,000 and with decent architecture and scenery and beautiful woodlands within walking distance—an ideal place for a charmed childhood. But as soon as I became an adult and came into frequent contact with the nearby cities for purposes of college, work, etc., I began to realize how ugly and alienating the UK is and soon decided that I wanted to live abroad. I already had an idea of what Spain was like from my summers with my expat family members in Jávea.
However, I ended up in Valencia. I decided to enrol at an immersive language school in Spain and happened to choose Valencia as my destination since I'm not a fan of capital cities (so Madrid was out of the question) and didn't really like Barcelona from my previous visit. So I chose the third largest city, soon found that it had everything that I could ever want, and fell crazily in love with the place. I then chose to live there long term, made some very special memories there to the point where it became like a second home, and even know most of the city layout like the back of my hand.
Unfortunately, since 2020, I've been grounded in the UK with an unusual health problem which has prevented me from living life as usual and I require specific treatment (in fact, this alone is the reason why I made an account on HA—escapism during such a terrible low point in my life
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). But I sense than I'm now close to full recovery and want to get back on the noble stallion of HA freedom and big phat booty mamacitas as soon as possible.
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